Aster struggled midair, trying to find anything he could grab onto. Thankfully, he was falling close to the edge of the cliff, and with a little bit of fast thinking, he pulled his sword and stabbed it into the wall, trying to slow down his fall.
"ARGH!"
But as expected, using his non-dominant left hand to hold the sword was a little bit too rash. He could feel that his shoulder had dislocated from the sudden stop, but through sheer force of will, and the fear of death, he kept his grip on the handle, not letting go.
"STAR! Oh no, hang on!"
Cassy, who peeked down the edge with the others, quickly found him dangling dangerously by the cliff's face. Their expressions were filled with worry and panic as they moved around, rummaging through their packs and finding anything that could help.
Kali was the first one to find a thick rope, and without hesitation, she tied one end around her waist, while running to tie the other end to a nearby rock. Then, without saying anything to the others, she jumped down the edge!
"...!"
Tina and Liz, fortunately, were alert. They quickly grabbed the middle of the rope and tried to pull it up. The impact due to Kali's weight, however, was so great that it caused rope burns to the two's hands, as they gradually gained control of it.
Kali was single-mindedly heading closer to Aster and quickly grabbed him in her embrace as soon as he was within arm's reach.
"Good! Pull us up!"
"Hmmmph!"
Cassy and Lory moved too, assisting Tina and Liz in pulling the two up. It didn't take a minute before they finally reached the edge, and were pulled into safety.
"Ugh... I almost died..." Aster sighed, panting hard from the mix of pain and relief.
He suffered a dislocated shoulder and a slight burn on the back of his hand. Kali, who went to save him, had rope burns around her waist, where the rope bit, with a part of it bleeding lightly.
Tina and Liz both had rope burns on their hands. They literally had the skin of their hands peeled off from the friction!
It was fortunate that they had a healer with them, Cassy. She quickly gathered all of them in one spot, and cast Minor Area Heal over them, healing their injuries in one go. Aster's dislocated shoulder was, of course, realigned manually first before getting healed.
After they were finally at peace, Tina hugged Aster while sobbing lightly, her face buried against his chest. Liz, curious, decided to ask. "Aster, what happened?"
Aster turned to her, glanced at his Magic Carved Seal, and sighed.
"I'm not sure either, but the Frostfire Legacy seed to have taken over my body for a short mont."
He did raise his WIS stat more than before, but that doesn't an that he could prevent all manners of interference from the Legacy. And this ti, it almost led him to his death!
'But will the Frostfire Legacy really try to kill , its host?' This, however, made Aster confused.
From what he learned, there should be "spirits" dwelling inside the Frostfire Legacy. And their lives are connected to his. aning, that if he dies, they die too! As such, the Frostfire Legacy had no reason to pull him into committing suicide.
Aster closed his eyes, trying to recall what happened from the beginning. Then, slowly, the fog in his mory cleared, as he let out a soft gasp.
"... A cave-like entrance." He muttered. "I think I saw a cave-like entrance below earlier."
"What? Are you sure you're not hallucinating?" Liz asked as if to confirm.
Aster shook his head from side to side, answering with little confidence. "I'm not sure either. However, I believe that what I saw was real... Should we check it out?"
"Aster!" Kali pulled his scarf collar, his face almost smashing against hers. "You almost died just now, and you're saying you want to scale that cliff?! Are you insane?!"
Cassy tried to reach her, cautiously calling. "K, calm down."
"I am calm!" She countered back. "I won't approve of Aster going back down there. I should be the one to check, instead of him! I'm nimbler, and lighter!"
"..."
Aster couldn't really say no to that, as her words were as true as can be. "Alright. Can I leave it to you, Kali?" He smiled wryly after a while of thinking.
After that, Kali prepared to scale the cliff face again. This ti, she made sure to tie the rope around her more securely, and not only around her waist. It was like an impromptu harness, wrapped around her waist and thighs, keeping her in a safe hold.
After making doubly sure that she was ready, they slowly dropped Kali down to the sa part where Aster fell. They lowered the rope slowly, making sure that it wouldn't snap from rubbing against the edge of the cliff.
A minute or so later, the rope's length had finally reached its limit. At that mont, Kali's voice was heard from below.
"Shit! There's really a cave here!"
"...!"
Everyone gasped at this revelation. A cave entrance was hidden in the face of a deadly cliff. Without a doubt, it's an untouched part of the fifth floor!
"Is there a platform where you can land?!"
Aster shouted toward her, trying to communicate. Kali descended even more, before shouting back. "There is! A small protrusion of about one ter from the wall!"
After that, the following events went fast.
First, with Kali's help, they set up a rope guide from the top of the cliff and into the cave. Then, they reinforced the rope and added a few ascender or friction knots using extra rope, allowing one to go up and down the said rope guide easily.
After that, everyone carefully went down to where Kali was and stood at the entrance of the dark cave. Everyone managed to descend safely, with Aster being the last one to descend.
"..."
Aster stared at his right hand, seeing that the Magic Carved Seal of the Frostfire Legacy was glowing once again. But this ti, it didn't co with pain, but more like a gentle glow.
"I think you already guessed this, but..." Liz comnted lightly, pointing into the cave. "Judging from the proximity, this must lead us into the crypt's interior too."
"I think so too." Aster nodded. "Then, everyone. Let's go check it out first, and see where this cave truly leads."
They quickly took out portable flashlights—a part of their ergency supplies—and carefully entered the dim cave. Nobody knows what was waiting for them inside just yet.
Reviews
All reviews (0)